While Walt Disney World prepares to close tomorrow for an unknown period of time, it seems that the sadness that fans are feeling is only getting worse by the news that has been coming out today of more live entertainment cuts coming to EPCOT. Over the course of the last couple years more and more live entertainment has been vanishing from the parks at Walt Disney World and on the edge of the parks closing, more cuts have been announced. The sad thing is that based on the reactions of the performers, these cuts are not temporary.
The cut acts are the Matsuriza Taiko Drummers, Sergio the Master Juggler, and the British Revolution. All of these performances are coming to an end today and both the Matsuriza Taiko Drummers and Sergio the Juggler have sounded off on social media about their final performances. Sergio in particular seems incredibly heartbroken to no longer be able to help bring magic to children and families all over the world as can be seen on his Facebook page As seen here . The Matsuriza Taiko Drummers also shared a very heartfelt goodbye to their fans on their Facebook page As seen here . The British Revolution also made a statement to the fans Seen here .
The loss of these entertainers actually concerns me quite a bit for the direction of EPCOT and on a similar note Animal Kingdom. Culture is something that both of these parks had ways of teaching. The live entertainment of these parks, while yes entertainment, also went a long way in introducing kids and families to the cultures of the countries they represent. As EPCOT continues to transform and become more and more IP based, it's concerning to see things like this fall to the wayside as a result of budget cuts. I get that Disney is a company and needs to continue to turn a profit, but the trend currently is as the prices increase, the value and entertainment drops. I've never been to Animal Kingdom and not seen the African band playing. I've never been to EPCOT and not been wowed by a performance I just happened to come across. The loss of those does nothing but hurt the experience, wonder, and magic of those parks.
With all parks closing I fear that when they reopen the cuts are going to continue at a rapid pace as Disney seeks a way to make up for lost ground. As much as it pains me to say, eliminate all the live entertainment around the parks and you end up with character meet and greets, rides, and food. You end up with an upscale Six Flags park that has more family oriented rides, more popular characters, better food, and is a much higher price. Take away the shows and as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter how amazingly themed World Showcase is because outside of a Frozen ride, there isn't much else to do for someone like me who doesn't drink besides walk around.
Time will tell with how this virus is going to affect the parks in the near future. My hope is once reopened we may see a return of these live entertainment shows, but the future is certainly not looking the brightest if Disney's recent track record of entertainment is being taken into account. I've had the pleasure of seeing all the cancelled shows referenced in this blog and each and every performer are incredible at what they do and helped to make EPCOT's World Showcase what it is today and each and every one of them will be sorely missed when the park reopens without them.
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